Robots that slice, grill, assemble and bag 400 burgers in one hour are set to invade California. Momentum Machines unveiled its autonomous* grill master in 2012 and recently announced it will be opening a robot-powered burger bar in San Francisco’s South of Market. Although this machine can do the work of three humans, the startup* is still hiring people to perform other tasks such as payroll and taking out the garbage. With the minimum wage increasing in parts of the United States, the idea of hiring a staff of robots may be a way to combat costs. Former McDonald’s USA CEO Ed Rensi has said it would be cheaper to hire robots to replace the company’s staff than to pay them the US$15 minimum wage that many are demanding in protests across the country. “It’s cheaper to buy a US$35,000 robotic arm than it is to hire an employee who’s inefficient making US$15 an hour bagging French fries,” Rensi said. He added that the demand to raise wages is “going to cause a job loss across this country like you’re not going to believe.” (SD-Agencies) |